


To Know

by Armin_05



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Clone Trooper Culture (Star Wars), Discussions of Jedi culture, Gen, Jedi Appreciation (Star Wars), Jedi Culture & Tradition (Star Wars), Jedi are eldritch, References Jedi Apprentice characters, Slavery, Tatooine Slave Culture (Star Wars), Well - Freeform, getting there, is based on Jedi culture, mentions of Jedi language, or - Freeform, suggested Force-Sensitive CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-24 08:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30069138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Armin_05/pseuds/Armin_05
Summary: Nearly all Jedi love learning. Anakin Skywalker is no different.Or, how Anakin found a love of learning and shared it with others.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Shmi Skywalker, CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives & Anakin Skywalker, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker, Kitster Chanchani Banai & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Kudos: 71
Collections: Jedi Culture Fics, Jedi Postive





	To Know

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [To Taste, To Speak](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27024937) by [virdant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/virdant/pseuds/virdant). 
  * Inspired by [Seductio](https://archiveofourown.org/works/206518) by [Fialleril](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fialleril/pseuds/Fialleril). 



" _You’re strange, you know?”_

“Huh?” Anakin muttered intelligibly, focused as he was on the piece of junk Watto had ordered him to fix before he went to the shop tomorrow. He was just old enough to leave _Amu’s_ side for extended periods of time and had decided to spend his few minutes of free time sitting with Kitster in the shade the slave quarters gave off. “What do you mean?”

“What?” Kitster stared at him blankly. “I didn’t say anything?”

“You did!” Anakin insisted. “You said I was strange!” They were sitting right next to each other, it wasn’t like Anakin could have misheard him.

“I didn’t!” Kitster snapped right back.

“You did too! I heard it!” Kitster’s irritation flared out like Watto’s does when Anakin pushes too far, almost crackling against Anakin’s skin in warning. Immediately Anakin winced and hunched his shoulders, even as Kitster scowled and walked away.

“I didn’t say that.” Anakin’s friend grumbled under his breath, already several feet away. He didn’t seem to realize that Anakin had incredible hearing. “I sure _thought_ it though.”

And then he turned the corner towards his home, leaving Anakin sitting in the sand, wondering what in the galaxy could _that_ have meant?

…

Anakin always found the game Hide-and-Go-Find to be incredibly easy and boring, and he couldn’t understand why the others enjoyed it so much. He could follow their person-sense right to them, after all. Kitster gave him another long, blank look when he said this, making Anakin shift uncomfortably.

Kitster hadn’t talked to him for about two days after their argument, then seemed to have forgotten his anger. They hadn’t discussed what had happened, and Anakin was willing to leave it alone if Kitster was. Now though, he  _ just knew _ Kitster was thinking of that day, though Anakin still didn’t understand why Kitster had reacted like he had when Anakin had responded to something Kitster had said. 

“...Why don’t we play something else, then?” Kitster finally suggested. “Let’s play Chase.”

For lack of a better idea, Anakin agreed. That ended up being a short game too though. It was too hot on Tatooine for much physical activity, and Anakin was much faster than Kitster and the others anyway.

...

Spending time with  _ Amu _ was Anakin’s favorite thing in the whole wide galaxy. Especially when it was time spent where she taught him about mechanics. Anakin didn’t always get people, but machines were simple. They were built to do just a couple of things, and if those things weren’t working then they were easy to fix. Usually.

That said,  _ Amu _ understood machines better than Anakin, though she said he was catching up quickly. 

Currently, they were in the back room of Master Watto's shop, tinkering on an engine their  _ depur  _ had gotten,  _ Amu _ 's hands on top of Anakin's, helping him feel out what was wrong with it. The engine had been stubborn the whole time they'd been working on it, but  _ Amu _ had remained patient, even as Anakin got frustrated with it.

"Remember, Ani," she murmured, "the machine has no voice, it only is. It is our job to find what is making it not be what it should be.”

“I don’t understand,” Anakin whined, upset.  _ Amu _ hummed soothingly and ran a - still somewhat greasy - elbow against his cheek, making him giggle. Bolstered, Anakin turned back to the machine, rested his hands against it, and suddenly knew what was wrong with it.

“The fuel line connector has a crack on the inside.” He announced giddily. It was so obvious now! The engine came from somewhere that wasn’t a wasteland like Tatooine, and thus had fuel-spill preventative measures in place. If the fuel line or connector had anything wrong with it, it wouldn’t start. 

_ Amu _ hummed again when he said this, checking the fuel line connector. Sure enough, there was a crack on it, just big enough that the safety measures would notice. She pulled the connector off, setting it to the side silently. She did not move to grab some sort of replacement. Anakin peered up at her worriedly when the silence dragged on. Was it something he said?

“You are so, so special, Ani.” She finally said. “I knew it from the moment you were born. Not everyone can look at an engine and know it was designed with fuel-safety measures. And Kitster told me what happened the other month.” 

Anakin hadn’t known that Kitster had talked to his  _ Amu _ . Why had Kitster talked to her and yet not explained to Anakin? He scowled.

“Ani,”  _ Amu _ caught his attention again, “Not many people can hear what another person is thinking. That is a very special gift, but it puts you in a lot of danger. If Watto ever heard…” She hesitated.

“I understand, Mom,” Anakin said. “I won’t do it anymore.” The fact that he hadn’t even known what he was doing notwithstanding. Still didn’t if he was being honest.

“I don’t know that you can stop it, baby.” She smiled, and it was one of her sad smiles, the one that said she wished the world was better. “Do you remember what I taught you about keeping attention off of you?”

“Yes, Mom.” 

“Good. Keep my words, don’t let anyone besides myself and Kitster know, okay?”

“Yes Mom,” Anakin repeated.  _ Amu _ smiled again and tugged on his earlobe, spreading grease  _ everywhere _ , chuckling when he squeaked in annoyance. 

“Alright, let’s fix this engine.”

…/...

“Anakin, what are you- Anakin?” Master Jedi Obi-wan stopped in the doorway of their shared Temple apartment, staring down at him quizzically. Anakin stared balefully back, trying not to cry, with datapads strewn about him where he sat on the floor in the living room. He’s just finished his first day of classes at the temple and realized just how far behind compared to his classmates he actually was.

“Anakin?” Obi-wan asked again, picking his way through the mess to kneel beside Anakin. “Are you alright? I can feel your upset. What’s wrong?”

Anakin shook his head, frustrated and upset. Since leaving his  _ Amu _ on Tatooine it seems like everything had happened non-stop, from Master Jedi Qui-gon’s death to his cremation to Obi-wan apprenticing Anakin to Anakin having to catch up on  _ all _ the learning his temple agemates had grown up knowing like how to read Basic and now  _ this _ and-

“Hey, Anakin, look at me, please?” Obi-wan requested. He never ordered Anakin, just requested. “Breathe with me, okay? In, and out. In, and out. Will you let me help you control your emotions?” He held out a hand, radiating calm into the air.

Anakin clutched onto his hand, taking shaky breaths. Obi-wan - always so cautious with him, Anakin can  _ feel _ him trying desperately to be what Anakin needs, just like his  _ Amu _ \- shifted until Anakin was ensconced in his lap, his head tucked under Obi-wan’s chin.

“Very good, Padawan,” Obi-wan murmured aloud while pressing the words into his mind through the ebb and flow of the Force. It is a language all the Jedi’s own, one Anakin is still learning. “A Jedi must always be vigilant... Not against their emotions, but in order to control them. You are the one in control, my young Padawan, not your emotions. Feel them, but do not let them control you.”

Anakin tilted his head, opening his eyes. “...What do you mean?” He ventured. Obi-wan had told him to ask any question that came into his mind, and the Mind Healer Anakin had been visiting said the same thing. There was no stupid question, Master Jedi Eonjai had said, there was only knowledge to be gained. Anakin was working on it.

Obi-wan hesitated, thinking. Anakin tried not to squirm impatiently. Obi-wan liked to take his time before he answered questions. He said he wanted to figure out how best to explain the concepts he’d learned years ago.

“You know how you have always been able to feel other people’s emotions, right?” Obi-wan finally asked, Anakin nodded enthusiastically. It always sucked when he did cause it felt like their emotions were sinking into his skin. “Right, that is called ‘empathy’. All Force-sensitives are strong empaths, meaning all Force-sensitives can feel other people’s emotions as strongly as they feel their own, while already feeling their own. Beyond that, when emotions are leaked into the Force, they tend to… linger, and double back on a Jedi’s senses, making it worse. Does that make sense?”

Anakin thought it over. “...So feeling other people’s emotions is like feeling it twice, and when emotions are released into the Force it’s like feeling it three times over.” Obi-wan nodded, a pleased smile on his face. Anakin beamed at him. Knowing that he’d made Obi-wan pleased with him always made him so  _ happy _ because Obi-wan always seemed somewhat sad. Anakin wished he could help make Obi-wan happy all the time but this would have to do.

“Correct, Anakin. This can get overwhelming for Jedi, so it’s imperative that we have tight control of our own emotions, otherwise they can lead us to do something we shouldn’t. If Jedi act out of strong emotions, we can seriously injure someone. Like…” he thought for another second, “when I was an Initiate, I let my anger get the better of me during a spar, and I managed to injure my crechemate, Bruck Chun, without meaning to. So that is why we must control our emotions, my young Padawan. Feel them, but do not let them control you.” Obi-wan paused to see if Anakin understood. Anakin thought he did, so he nodded. It usually made sense, when his Master Jedi explained it so thoroughly.

“Which brings me back to my first question, what had you so upset?” Obi-wan questioned. Frustrated tears sprung back to Anakin’s eyes at the reminder, but he breathed just as Obi-wan had shown him.

“I just… there’s just  _ so much _ I don’t know!” He said when he thought he had control, but it still came out as a frustrated whine. Obi-wan nodded thoughtfully.

“I probably should have expected this,” he said. “Did the teachers go too fast for you?”

Anakin shook his head, paused, and shrugged. It wasn’t that they were going fast, per se, it was more that Anakin didn’t have the standard education of his agemates and thus didn’t recognize many of the things they were discussing. The teachers had told the room at large to ask any question they had, but Anakin was still trying to do that with Obi-wan - who he spent the most time with - and he didn’t want to appear stupid. His agemates were so far ahead and-

Anakin  _ wanted _ to know, though. Obi-wan had taken him to the Archives to get children’s books so Anakin could learn Basic and Anakin had suddenly realized how little about the galaxy he knew. When he’d begged Obi-wan to get some basic history books, Obi-wan had acquiesced with a grin. Master Jedi Nu had seemed pleased too. Obi-wan and Anakin spent some time each night reading from the history books, but it still hadn’t prepared Anakin for the classes today.

“I want to learn.” He said instead of that. “I want to know  _ everything _ . But I’m so far behind.”

Obi-wan chuckled. “Everything, huh?” Anakin could hear the grin in his voice. “I think we can manage that.”

…

Instead of history books, Obi-wan started reading basic Jedi texts to Anakin that explained all the things his agemates had grown up learning. They quickly figured out that Obi-wan turning them into practical and humorous lectures helped Anakin understand better than Obi-wan just reading it verbatim, so that was how their evenings were spent, with Obi-wan teaching basically everything to Anakin. 

Master Jedi Eonjai encouraged Anakin to bring any concepts Obi-wan struggled to explain to her. She too was a patient and willing teacher, and they more than once spent the entire time Anakin had scheduled with her discussing Jedi culture and doctrine. She also asked Anakin to explain what he felt comfortable discussing about Tatooine culture to her and Obi-wan.

“You did not grow up in the temple,” she said, “no one could expect you to know these things. You do not have to give up the culture you were raised in for the Jedi. Many Jedi incorporate their planet of birth’s culture into their own lives. In fact, many knights and Padawans return to their planet of origin to pass trials that signify their passage into adulthood in their culture, or, like Master Plo Koon, join a different Force-sensitive sect while still remaining a Jedi.”

Anakin did not explain anything about Amavikka culture, as it was not for outsiders, and they did not press, but he did talk about carving Japor snippets, how it was important to Tatooine natives as a whole. Afterward, he found wood and carving tools in his room with no explanation and took a moment to thank  _ Ar-Amu _ for bringing him to the Jedi. They had been nothing but compassionate and encouraging. Between Master Jedi Obi-wan and Master Jedi Healer Eonjai, Anakin soon felt like he’d mostly caught up to his agemates, and the first time he asked a question in class the teacher - Master Jedi Rakon - had beamed at him and enthusiastically explained again.

With one success under his belt, Anakin tried again with another teacher. Once again, the teacher happily explained it over again and even made sure Anakin understood both what had been discussed and  _ where he could find out more about it  _ before he moved on.

It was like a fire had been lit. Anakin hadn’t been lying when he told his Master Jedi that he wanted to know  _ everything _ . On Tatooine, there hadn’t been much to know, just how to do your job and stay under  _ depur’ _ s radar. It hadn’t been till he saw how much knowledge was stored in the Jedi archives that he realized how little he knew. With every new question he asked, he slowly grew bolder until he finally went to the Archives to look up more information on the old  _ Je’daii _ Order that the current Order had evolved from.

When he woke up from a two-hour unplanned nap while trying to read the text, he was bemused, but not discouraged. After the third time, Obi-wan suggested he try the read-aloud feature on his datapad and have it play while he did something else. That worked, and Anakin spent several merry hours listening to all sorts of books while tinkering with something else, or while working on lightsaber katas.

Life was good, Anakin Skywalker was going to be a Jedi Knight, and once he was he could go free the slaves.

This was  _ wizard _ .

…/...

Rex glanced over around the landing zone, watching troopers buzz about getting everything packed up to move out. They were about six months into the war now, and his men knew their jobs like the back of their hands. Injured troopers, supplies, and more were loaded onto the LAAT/is, with the injured being flown up to the  _ Resolute _ as soon as they were loaded. He could see Echo and Fives directing some shinies, and Jesse helping Kix make sure their medical supplies were packed. Everyone was doing their jobs and accounted for.

Or, wait. Rex counted heads again and came up two short. His general and his commander were missing.

That wasn’t an issue, but it was strange. The Jedi seemed to believe that there was no job too lowly for them to do, and could often be found wherever the worst or most boring jobs were, helping the men out and leaving Rex to run things as and how he wanted to. He didn’t see them now, though.

He shrugged and dismissed it. They’d probably gotten caught up debriefing the Council. They’d been sent to this tiny, insignificant planet just inside Republic borders on a “relief mission”, that was just a cover for the Jedi to track down a Seppie leader who’d holed up on the planet. While the men had built houses and distributed food and supplies to the people, General Skywalker and Commander Tano with a small squad had gone digging through a rather convoluted series of puzzles to find the Seppie leader. Last he’d seen them some of the locals had been taking them to a comm station.

It was only when everything was packed up for departure and they still hadn’t shown that Rex started to get worried. The planet  _ seemed _ friendly, but Jedi found trouble like others breathed air: effortlessly. He signaled Echo and Fives to follow, ignoring Jesse’s rather rude gesture when this put him in charge - if he acknowledged it he’d have to promote Jesse, cause he knew Jesse  _ hated _ that - and went searching. 

The locals took one look at them and pointed in the general direction of the comm station. Rex nodded back at them. They didn’t appear to be trying to hide anything, but one could never be sure.

His Jedi’s voices, low and musical, floated over to them as soon as the comm station doors opened with a  _ hiss _ . Commander Tano smiled at them in greeting just a beat too soon. General Skywalker stood beside her, talking to an elderly native lady. Their posture was open and relaxed, and Rex relaxed as soon as he saw it. They were fine, all was well.

Commander Tano tilted her head at them, a question in her gaze. Rex shook his head, and she returned her attention to what was apparently a riveting conversation. The lady’s eyes tightened, Rex sympathized. Though Jedi were the most unfailingly kind people he’d ever met, having their full attention on you was… disconcerting.

“-that’s really beautiful, Lady Pa’il,” General Skywalker said. “Would you be willing to tell me - oh, hey, Captain, Fives, Echo - would you be willing to tell me what the significance behind  _ paisha _ is?”

“Of course, Master Jedi.” Lady Pa’il replied. “ _ Paisha _ is-”

Rex settled in to wait, his  _ vod’e _ at his back. He didn’t understand what in the galaxy was being discussed, but his Jedi seemed enthusiastic. One could almost ignore how their movements were just a little too fluid.

“Thank you for discussing your planet’s culture with us, Lady Pa’il. It has been an honor.” General Skywalker and Commander Tano swept into simultaneous bows after some time. “I would love to stay and continue this, but unfortunately, war never sleeps.” Skywalker chuckled,

“Yes, thank you Lady Pa’il.” Commander Tano agreed. Lady Pa’il smiled back.

“Of course Masters Jedi,” she said. “Thank you both for being such enthusiastic conversation partners. I wish you farewell, and may the Goddesses be with you and your men.”

“Farewell, and Force be with you.” General Skywalker agreed. “Alright, ready to go, men?”

“Sir!”

“Is everything packed up already, Rex?” Skywalker asked as they left the town and headed up the hill towards the landing zone.

“Yes, General. You two are the only ones we’re waiting on.” Rex signaled for Fives and Echo to go ahead of them and tell Jesse they’d found the Jedi. 

“Sorry about that, Rexster. We didn’t mean to be gone so long.” His Commander looked back apologetically. “We got distracted asking Lady Pa’il about the planet’s culture. It was fascinating!” She lit up, briefly, then deflated. “But we didn’t mean to make you guys worry.” Rex carefully ignored how the world right around her seemed to saturate and dim with her mood.

“It’s alright, Commander. I just wanted to make sure you two hadn’t gotten kidnapped.” He smiled at her, only half-joking. You never knew with Jedi.

“It was only once!” Ahsoka protested, paused. “Weeellll, maybe twice.” Rex snorted.

“So you were discussing culture?” He asked. He didn’t see how that could have possibly been so fascinating. Ahsoka and Skywalker both grinned then. Oh, boy.

“Yeah. Niurus doesn’t have a big file in the Jedi archives since no Jedi has visited in the last couple of centuries, so we were just getting some information on their culture and fauna.” Skywalker explained. “They have a truly fascinating way of viewing- What?” He raised an amused eyebrow at whatever expression Rex must have made.

“Sorry sir, I just… didn’t expect that. Of you.” Rex winced. All the Jedi generals had been nothing but supportive to the  _ vod’e _ under their command, unfailingly kind and respectful in every possible way. They’d given their men as much as they could get away with and then some, from educational modules to workout equipment to entertainment things to comfortable items. The Order had put Clone Rights bills in for Senate consideration at least once a month for every month of the war and apologized profusely, with genuine upset each time it didn’t work.

Rex hated it when anyone in his general vicinity insulted or disparaged the Jedi, and that included himself, even if it was accidental. 

Not that his commanding officers cared a whit. Skywalker and Ahsoka snorted. 

“You mean you  _ didn’t _ expect Skyguy - a renown ‘fight-first-ask-later’ type - to find sitting around asking a bunch of questions that hold no practical use fun?” Ahsoka teased. “Who’da ever thunk it?”

“Hey!” Skywalker protested. “I like learning!”

“Oh, I know,” Ahsoka replied fondly. “You’re as much of a nerd as Master Kenobi is.”

“Like you’re not! Don’t think I didn’t know you stayed up late to watch those old educational holos about gravity, Snips.” Skywalker tried an admonishing tone but cracked up laughing instead. 

“They were interesting!” His Commander defended herself.

Rex looked back and forth between them like it was that game some of his troops liked to play where they batted a little ball back and forth across a wall of some sort. “Sirs?”

Skywalker waved his hand in a ‘don’t worry about it’ gesture. “Sorry, Rex. To answer your question, Jedi place a big emphasis on learning and teaching. We’re peacekeepers, sure, but if you ask nearly any Jedi they’d probably tell you that they’d prefer to be doing research or teaching initiates. It was a big part of Temple life before the war.”

“Oh,” Rex ruminated on that, but before he came up with something to say they’d come up on the landing zone. Jesse seemed pleased to hand control back, and within minutes they were loaded up and leaving.

He only took a moment, much later, to regret not asking more about Jedi culture. The  _ vod’e _ didn’t really have a culture of their own. The Kaminoans had been too regimented and strict about making them “replaceable, mindless soldiers'', and none of the  _ Cuy’val Dar _ had cared enough to teach them one. Some enterprising  _ vod _ had found out the Mando’a word for “sibling” and decided that’s who they, the clones were, but that was the extent of their knowledge of Mandalorian culture.

Looking at the Jedi, at how all of them had automatically accepted and respected the  _ vod’e _ , brought them into their Temple and let them handle their Jedi Cadets without any apparent concern for their children’s safety, caring for them and dying beside them, Rex could so easily see the  _ vod'e _ adapting to and adopting this culture. He thought he might even want to. 

If they'd have the  _ vod'e _ , that is.

…/...

“What do you think he’s listening to?” Echo murmured, for the second time.

“Probably some music,” Fives huffed. “We’ve established this.” They were ensconced in a corner of the hangar, watching their general work on his personal fighter. General Skywalker liked to tinker, they’d found, and could often be spotted working on random mechanical bits and bobs, especially his fighter. Right then, he had headphones on and was bobbing his head to something only he could hear.

Echo had admitted to being curious, which had gotten Fives curious, and now they were watching from afar, trying to figure out what their general liked to listen to. Both of them were leaning towards some sort of upbeat music, but neither of them had a clue what kind. They’d heard music since getting assigned to the 501st, but no  _ vod _ had really had time to delve into it. There was a war going on, after all.

“We should just ask him.” Fives finally huffed, bored. “I’m sure he’ll just tell us.”

“I guess,” Echo admitted. General Skywalker was very laid-back with the men and encouraged them to come up and speak to him if they wanted to. He wouldn’t mind them asking what he was listening to. He smirked. “After you, then.”

“Kriff no. You do it.” For all Fives’ abrasiveness in a group that he was comfortable with, Echo led the way and he just followed. It had always been like that, even back on Kamino, but since Rishi Moon, Echo had gotten it into his head that Fives needed to “stand up for himself,” and “talk to people without my being there,” because “I may not always be here Fives”. 

Which, okay, fine, they were soldiers and that was the reality of war, but Fives didn’t even like to talk to Captain Rex without Echo there. He was  _ not _ about to go up and speak to  _ Anakin Skywalker _ , their very own Jedi General, the Hero-With-No-Fear even while Echo was there.

Echo sighed like the life was being dragged out of him. “Fine.”

Drama queen.

“I heard that.”

He was meant to, the dolt.

Echo hopped off the crate without deigning to acknowledge that and approached the General. General Skywalker looked up as soon as they got within polite speaking range and smiled brightly. General Skywalker always seemed so bright on a level Fives didn’t know how to explain.

“Hey Echo! Hey Fives!” General Skywalker greeted, pulling off his headphones. “What’s up?”

“The ceiling.” Fives’ very annoying twin deadpanned. General Skywalker cackled as Fives shook his head in exasperation. Echo and his puns.

“Good one, Echo!” Their General cheered. “Oh, I should remember that one, Ahsoka would love it.”

“Thank you, sir,” Fives could  _ hear _ the smirk in Echo’s voice, and barely refrained from sighing. “Though, we were actually wondering what you were listening to?”

“Oh, you want to- here, I’ll put it on speaker for you.” They got another bright grin, this one accompanied by the feeling of standing in the warm sunlight. He relaxed, a tension he hadn’t even noticed being swept away in General Skywalker’s mere orbit. The General fiddled with his ‘pad until it started playing aloud.

Fives and Echo had been expecting music, they were sorely disappointed.

“-catch a chemist staring into a beaker of colored liquid except when posing for photographers.” (1) The ‘pad rattled off. Skywalker paused it.

“Ah, here, let me back it up for you.” He grimaced apologetically. 

“Sir? What actually are you listening to?” Echo asked again, tilting his head. Fives agreed. Chemists? Beakers?

“It’s an audio recording of a science course offered by the Temple,” Skywalker explained. “Learning modules are available to anyone who wants them, and the ones recorded by-” he looked at his ‘pad “-Master Westfield are especially good. I’ve been listening to his stuff in my off-time.”

“Oh, huh.” Echo sat down, Fives right behind him. “Anyone can listen, sir?”

“Yep! The Temple has the best school courses anyone could ever offer, and knowledge should be shared with anyone who wants it, so anyone can request a copy of the Temple courses. Master Nu actually made multiple copies to be made available on Jedi-led ships for you and your brothers.” Skywalker paused. “...You knew that, right? I was so sure that was well-known.”

“Well…” Echo hesitated. They  _ had _ known about the modules, Captain Rex had made sure to tell them during their shakedown briefing, but neither of them had tried to access them. The Kaminoans had only taught them everything they needed to know for war and only bothered with more for the  _ vod’e _ who needed it for their specializations. 

Fives could plan a basic battle strategy, could do basic math in his head all day long, but he knew nothing about history, or “chemists”.

When Echo floundered for longer than a couple of seconds, Skywalker frowned but nodded like they’d told him everything he needed to know. And maybe they had, Fives wasn’t sure how Jedi worked.

“The course I’m listening to is available in the learning modules on-ship,” Skywalker said. “How ‘bout you listen with me and you can decide later if you want to look up more?”

“That sounds nice, Sir.” Fives found himself saying, to his own surprise. Skywalker had handily calmed him to the point he found he didn’t mind talking to the General as much. It helped, admittedly, that he really was curious about this “chemist” thing.

He didn’t have to look at Echo to know his twin didn’t care to stay now that he’d gotten an answer, but Echo would because Fives had agreed. Skywalker beamed at him, sending another ray of warmth across his skin, and rewound the recording.

Fives settled in to be here a while and made a mental note to go looking for the learning modules later. If the Jedi had really made these available to all the  _ vod’e _ , and they were as interesting as this one sounded, Fives wanted to know more.

It was astounding to think that he might be allowed to want to learn more. Even encouraged to do so.

He thought he could get used to that.

**Author's Note:**

> Amatakkan word:  
> Amu - mom  
> Depur - slave master  
> Mando'a:  
> vod - sibling (plural vod'e)  
> (1) Audio taken from "Chemistry 101 - An Overview of God's Chemical World" which I highly recommend as a started chemistry course. It breaks it all down into easy and simple terms. More importantly, it's freaking hilarious, which I think Anakin would appreciate.


End file.
